What are the visa options for retirees moving to Thailand, specifically regarding the O-A and O visas for a trailing spouse?

i didnt read all replies but maybe already answered -- you get a non-OA visa in UsA from RTE not a non-o with that you get a spouse non-o. you can also get a spouse visa with a LTR or DTV if you qualify (IMO the later 2 are better if you qualify) important thing here is if anyone says you can get a visa for yourself AND spouse IN thailand they are wrong FYI2 i trade thru Interactive brokers for years and dont use phone sms to log in however not that i need it but i have kept my overseas phone mobile for various reasons at $2.5 a month (note i have no connection or experience with USA)

Air quality 😁😂

25km west of Chiang Rai ..........yesterday.... during the burning season... I could not see the mountains...

The air quality in Chiang Rai is extremely poor. You are better off to look at the coast east of Bangkok. Around Rayong is good. Not far to Pattaya or Bangkok. Good shopping. Clean air. Others can answer the visa questions for you.

I have Fidelity account too. I’ll bet you already use My Voice Verify. Leave/get standing wire orders with them before you leave. If you have a Skype local number there you can just call in anytime and initiate a wire to your bank here in Thailand. Easy and cheap.

I came to Thailand on an OA visa in 2017. In 2019 Thailand imposed an insurance requirement to this visa. I have Thai insurance and had my OA for 6 years. I suggest that you carefully review your insurance coverage before committing to an OA. Also, I am not sure if the insurance you use to get your original OA visa will qualify when you do your OA yearly extensions inside Thailand. I know my Thai insurance did qualify.

Personally I recommend that you pursue an O visa for yourself. There is no insurance requirement with an O visa. I am not suggesting you shouldn’t have insurance but you may not want to tie it to your visa.

For both the OA and O visas you eventually get to the point of extending (not renewing) one year at a time. The process and cost of extending both visas is the same except for the OA insurance requirement.

I actually switched from my OA to a 10 year pensioner LTR visa. The LTR visa is offered through the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI). Google BOI LTR to see the requirements for this visa if you are interested. There is an insurance requirement. No 90 day reporting requirement. No yearly extensions. You need $80,000/yr passive income.

I agree with others that the air quality in Northern Thailand is notoriously bad for part of the year.

If you want good air then the Andaman coast in phang Nga is the best plus the south is utterly beautiful

@Scott ********

the aie quality in Chiang Rai is bad during burning season. Think beaches down south

I'm a bit confused about your statement that you're looking at Chiang Rai because of the air quality. The air in Chiang Rai is just as bad as Chiang Mai during burning season, it's just not reported as much because chiang Mai is a much bigger city.

The trailing spouse non-O is not available in Thailand or any Thai embassy in SE Asia. So you need to check with your embassy in your home country where you will be applying for the non-OA and ask them if they will also issue your wife a non-O based on being a trailing spouse to your visa. If they will issue that visa, then you can both travel to Thailand and when your wife has about 30 days left on her entry stamp, she can apply for an extension based on your visa.

If your home embassy will not issue it, then you don't have a lot of options. Maybe look into getting a DTV visa for her. Or worst case the privilege visa but it's expensive.